The myriad of webcam applications available has caused demand for webcams to increase to an extent where it is becoming an essential accessory for any computer. This is evident in the trend of webcams being integrated into an increasing number of notebook computers. At this juncture, webcams are typically used in applications like, for example, video chat, video conferencing, games and remote monitoring applications.
These applications allow users to remain connected with any location in the world with an internet connection using video communications, which is typically viewed as an improvement compared to traditional voice-based communications. However, it is generally believed that the quality of the video in video communications needs to be improved to enhance the communications process. One reason why the quality of the video is not desirable relates to the fact that a recipient of the video is currently only able to adjust typical settings on a recipient display device when adjusting how the received video is viewed. By doing this, while the received video may appear to be more palatable to the recipient, the recipient will need to re-adjust the settings on the recipient display to an original set of settings each and every instance when video is received from a sender. This is tedious and inconvenient to the recipient.
This problem of re-adjusting the settings on the recipient display is further exacerbated in an instance when there are more than two parties in a communications session. In such an instance, it is highly unlikely that re-adjusting the settings on the recipient display will enable the recipient to view every party in the communications session in a desirable manner.
While it may be possible for the recipient to instruct each party to adjust their appearance with regard to a preference of the recipient, it is a rather troublesome process (eg. adjusting light conditions, adjusting face position of other party, adjusting position in relation to camera, and so forth).
It would be most desirable if the recipient could vary the quality of each received video without tampering with the settings on the recipient display as this would eliminate a tedious and inconvenient process for the recipient.